The sponsor behind two vocational schools today revealed they are set to close after struggling to attract enough students.

Stoke Studio College is run as two linked schools – one specialising in construction and technical building skills (CaBE) and the other focusing on manufacturing and design engineering (MaDE).

But despite each of them having places for up to 300 teenagers – aged between 13 and 19 – they are less than a quarter full.

Now Government ministers have agreed in principle to the closures, although this will be subject to a four-week consultation before the final decision is made.

Alpha Academies Trust, which sponsors them, has proposed shutting Stoke Studio College for Construction and the Built Environment this August. The other studio school would close in August 2019, ensuring the 34 pupils who are about to move into Year 11 will be able to complete their courses.

No new pupils would be recruited, with those who intended to start this September either staying at their present school or being offered a transfer to another school.

Stoke Studio College operates as two linked schools

Ann Marie Lucy, Alpha’s chief operating officer, said: “It is a sad reality that such small schools cannot continue in the long term.”

The trust has not revealed the current pupil numbers, although last year MaDE had 84 students and CaBE just 38.

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Young people take a mixture of GCSEs and diplomas, alongside work placements and enterprise projects, and also have links with employers. But once they turn 16, many have opted to either study elsewhere or take apprenticeships, leaving the sixth forms unviable.

Interim principal Dave Miles said: “Our view has always been to support the decision which is in the best interests of the pupils.” But he praised the ‘dedicated staff who have all done an excellent job’.

It’s not clear if the closures will mean redundancies. The move comes just six years after CaBE opened.

Students learn a range of vocational skills (Image: Getty)

Reach pupil referral unit – which supports students facing exclusion from mainstream schools – is expected to relocate to the Burslem studio school site as part of the plans. Currently based in Trent Vale, it is joining the multi-academy trust in September and will be able to expand to offer 120 alternative provision places.

The Department for Education said ‘a number of options’ were explored for the future of the studio schools. But a spokesman added: “We have agreed, in principle, to the closure.”

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Studio schools were designed to help meet the need for more skilled workers in key industries. But nationally, they have proved an expensive flop as they’ve failed to attract enough learners.

Only around 30 studio schools remain open and at least 24 have either shut or been earmarked for closure. Some never even got off the starting blocks and one – Manchester Creative Studio – fell victim to a series of financial and exam malpractice scandals.